New England ADA Center
December Newsletter

 
MA Emergency Rooms Once Offered Little for Drug Users. That's Starting to Change
Instead of sending addicted people on their way, the hospital can start treatment right in the emergency department.  And now a new state law is requiring all hospitals to do the same, a mandate that calls on hospitals to meet the challenge of a crisis claiming four or five lives each day in Massachusetts.

Click here for more of the story.
Image source: file photo .

The Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL) Honors Butch & Babe's with the Rosemary J. Miller Dining for All Award
VCIL recently honored Kortnee Bush, owner of Butch & Babe's, with the Rosemary J. Miller Dining for All Award for its commitment to accessibility.
Read more.
Local architect Cleary Buckley, left, presents Kortnee Bush, owner of Butch & Babe's, with the award. Image source: photo by Stefani Monte.

MA Jail Ordered to Give Inmate Methadone for Opioid Addiction in Far-Reaching Ruling
Judge Denise J. Casper of the United States District Court has ordered the Essex County House of Correction to provide methadone to a prospective inmate who relies on the medication to treat his opioid addiction, saying that denying the treatment can violate both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. 

An inmate took his methadone treatment at the New Haven Correctional Center in Connecticut last year. Most jails and prisons around the country do not give inmates access to methadone. Image source: photo courtesy of The New York Times by Christopher Capozziello.

National News
President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990. It was landmark legislation that expanded rights and protections for millions of people. Bush, who died November 30th, played a key role in its passage.  Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson talks with  Marian Vessels , who is the former retired director of the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center in Maryland, who was at the ADA's signing.

Image source: file photo.

Nationally, Bike-Share Options Are Rarely Available for People With Disabilities
The lack of adaptive bicycles has raised questions and legal concerns about accessibility. Companies that have sought to revolutionize transportation increasingly are facing question about who gets left out.

Inclusive bike sharing. Image source: photo courtesy of MoGo Detroit.

A movement has emerged in recent years to promote awareness of "neurodiverse" people who can be highly intelligent but are wired differently - those on the autism spectrum, or with obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety, dyslexia, or communication challenges.

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Iterators company president, Jill Willcox and her son, Oliver, at work. Image source: photo courtesy of the Boston Globe.

Property owners are becoming more aware of how they describe their accommodations on vacation rental platforms. New accessibility filters on travel arrangement websites allow owners to address disability in a focused way instead of simply describing a place as compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Image source: photo courtesy the Los Angeles Times.

The company  announced  it converted the Starbucks near Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. into a Signing Store. Gallaudet is the nation's premier university for students who are deaf or hearing-impaired The  cafe is staffed entirely by employees who can communicate in American Sign Language (ASL).

For more on the story, click here.
Image source: photo courtesy of Starbucks.

Our ADA Checklist is a friendly and easy to use tool that will help you identify barriers to accessibility in your indoor and outdoor facilities.

Get the Checklist here.

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New England ADA Center, a project of the Institute for Human Centered Design

The New England ADA Center is a member of the ADA National Network funded by the Administration for Community Living through National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Grant # 90DP0087.